Whatever It Takes
by SpyKid18
Summary: A Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter reunion story. (Each chapter is a scene from their life.)


If Steve Rogers was being honest, the decision was made the moment he saw her through the window. He hadn't expected to see her, although he supposed part of him knew she would be there. Steve knew her future and it made sense that she would be there. But still, he hadn't expected to actually _see_her. The only thing separating them a glass window and some fifty unspoken years. Steve was struck with such yearning that it felt as physical as breathing, but he knew this wasn't the time. Tony and he had a mission, and Steve, always the dutiful soldier, would not risk that. But as he turned around, he had the slightest thought that if he survived all of this – and that was a fairly large _if_– he would find her again. Whatever it took.

After the battle, Steve was consumed with grief. While he knew Tony chose to sacrifice himself, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was another way. One that didn't end with Tony leaving all of them behind. In the hours after his memorial, the team trading stories over food and beer, Pepper walked over to Steve and gently touched his arm.

"Can you come with me?"

Steve nodded, following Pepper up the stairs and into Tony's study. She closed the door and then said, "I was looking through Tony's things this morning and I found something. It turns out he left you a message, too."

Steve swallowed hard. "He did?"

"I thought you might want to watch it alone."

Steve nodded. "Thank you. Unless you want to be here."

Pepper shook her head and smiled sadly. "Whatever he needs to say is between you two. I'll be downstairs."

She walked out of the room and Steve played the message, still feeling the jolt of surprise when the apparition of Tony Stark appeared in front of him.

"Hey there, Cap. If you're watching this, that means I didn't make it. But, it also means you did. Which brings me to the point of this message. For as long as I've known you, I've been telling you to get a life. If I learned anything, it's that all of this – what we do, or _did, _I guess – it has to mean something. You lived for a reason. Make it count. Oh, and, you probably already know this, but if you return the space stone, there are more Hank Pym particles just sitting there. Waiting to be used." Tony flashed his trademark smirk. "Just a thought."

The image disappeared and Steve sat motionless, Tony's words ringing in his ears. He thought then of Peggy through that window. Her anguished voice on the intercom some twenty years earlier, begging him to consider other options, and then the melancholy acceptance when she saw there was no other choice. All those years ago, he never could have dreamed that there was a way back.

He walked downstairs and exchanged a glance with Pepper. He could tell that she was curious as to what her late husband had to say to him, and he said, "He told me to get a life."

Pepper laughed, the sound unexpected in the somber setting, and she wiped at a sudden onslaught of tears as she said, "Why am I not surprised?"

The next day, Steve prepared to return the stones to their rightful places. He said his goodbyes, too nervous to reveal his true intentions out of fear that he would back out. Maybe he would come back, after all. But when he exchanged his last words with Bucky, his friend voiced what he couldn't.

The journey to place all the stones took longer than expected, but then he was returning the space stone and gathering up enough of the Pym particles for what he hoped would be his final trip. He aimed for 1945 but after locating a newspaper, he saw that he overshot by a few years.

After acquiring appropriate clothing, Steve sought out to find her, realizing as he walked the busy New York streets that he had no idea where she was or the slightest idea of how to find her. He figured he could start with the Strategic Scientific Reserve, but where were they located? As he tried to catch an address, Steve found himself nostalgic for the GPS capabilities of his past-future. Steve turned around, trying to gain his bearings when he saw her.

She looked practically the same as the last time he saw her. She held herself with the same authority, back straight and shoulders squared. He used to think that she always looked primed for battle, even when he had seen her in that red dress. She was stopped on a corner, waiting out a stop light with her hands dug deep into the pockets of her dark green jacket.

Despite finding the purpose of his time travel, Steve was gripped with a sudden and suffocating fear. How could he possibly explain how he was back and everything that had happened? It wasn't exactly something that could be summarized in a few sentences. He needed time to think. To strategize. He turned quickly, seemingly having none of his super soldier senses as he careened messily into an older woman. Her purse dropped to the ground, contents spilling out onto the sidewalk.

"I am so sorry," Steve said, crouching down to help her.

"You should watch where you're going, young man!"

"Yes, absolutely. Again, I'm very sorry."

"Here's your lipstick," another voice said. Feminine. British. Unmistakably her. Steve kept his gaze down. "It rolled out toward the street."

The old woman took the lipstick from her and tucked it away in her purse.

"Thank you, dear. I would have been very upset if I lost that. They discontinued the color."

"Well, then I'm glad I was here to help."

Steve was still crouched down, picking up the last of the coins, when he felt her gaze on his back. He slowly stood up and held out the coins to the older woman. She took them from him and gave him one more smart look before walking away. Steve took a deep breath before turning to face her. She recognized him immediately, although he sensed the hesitance in her face. He couldn't blame her exactly. For all intents and purposes, he should be at the bottom of the ocean.

"Peggy."

"Who are you?" she asked slowly, defensively. He could see various emotions flicker over her face as she stared at him.

"You know who I am."

She still didn't look convinced, although he noticed that her hands were shaking. He stepped toward her and said, "It's me, Peggy. I swear, it's me."

"I don't believe you."

She needed proof, and he said, "The last time we talked. On the radio. We were going to go dancing. I said I'd have the band play something slow." He took another step toward her. "And I was afraid that I didn't know how to dance. Do you remember that?"

She nodded slowly and he took another step forward. "And you said that-"

"I'd teach you," she finished, her careful hold on herself slipping slightly. She was still fighting the truth, unwilling, or maybe unable, to let herself believe. "Is it really you?"

"Yes."

"How…"

He let out a shaky breath. "That is a more complicated question than you know."

"But you're really you? And you're okay?"

He nodded and she closed the distance between them, hesitantly bracing her hands on his arms. He instinctively mirrored her movement, his hands lightly gripping her waist. They made an intimate tableau for those walking by, garnering a few looks, but they didn't care. For a moment, Steve forgot about all the complications that he would necessarily need to explain. It was only her and the impossibility of them being here again, back where his heart had never truly left.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Peggy said.

"Me too."

While she didn't know it, he lost her, too. He still remembered the ache in his chest as he braced her coffin on his shoulder, steeling himself for a future without her. The memory brought him squarely back to the reason for their unlikely reunion and Peggy watched his expression change.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?"

* * *

They sat in her living room, Steve finishing taking her through the saga of his last few years. When he was finished he felt physically drained and not a small amount nervous as he waited for her reaction. A tea kettle heated on the stove behind them.

"You're here from the future?" Peggy asked incredulously. It all seemed ridiculous, but only a few years ago they were fighting a man with a skull for a face, so her barometer for ridiculous had been recalibrated.

"I know it's hard to believe, but-"

"No, I believe you," she interrupted. She smiled sadly and said, "I can see the years on your face." Peggy was silent for a moment before she asked, "Why did you come back here?"

He could tell from her tone that she knew. They both knew. Without hesitation he said, "Well, I had a date."

She let out a shaky breath and said, "You're a bit late, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Peggy reached over and took his hand in hers, grasping it tightly. She looked on the verge of tears and Steve wanted nothing more than to gather her into his arms. They both had waited so long, but there was still more to discuss. Frankly, it was the part that worried him the most. He knew from the future that she had a life ahead of her where she was happy. A life with a husband, children and grandchildren. As much as he wanted her to spend her life with him, she deserved to know what she would be giving up before they made any decision.

"There's one last thing you need to know," Steve said.

"You've already told me you're from the future. What more could there be?"

He took a deep breath before saying, "Your future."

The tea kettle whistled loudly, making both of them jump. Peggy went to stand and Steve said, "No, I'll get it."

Steve was going to offer her a cup of tea, but didn't know if his hands would be steady enough to pour. Frankly, Peggy didn't want tea in that moment, either. The way he said her future made her stomach drop and she expected the worst when he settled next to her again. He struggled to start speaking and Peggy nervously asked, "Is it really that bad?"

"No," he said quickly. "It's not bad at all. You're happy in the future. You get married and you have children and grandchildren."

"That sounds nice," she said. "Why do you look so nervous then?"

"Your future doesn't include me. At least not until much later. I came here because after they took me out of the ice, all I could think about was you and what we could have had. I still think about it. But, if we do this, it could impact your future. You may never meet your husband."

In that moment, Peggy had never loved him more. He travelled across time to find her, and yet was still nervous that she would tell him no. If only he knew of all the nights she fell asleep dreaming of him. All the places she could no longer go because they reminded her too much of their time together. She laid her hand against his face and murmured, "Something tells me that if I didn't lose you, I never would have needed to."

"Peggy-"

She leaned forward and kissed him. "I have spent the last three years wishing I could see you. I'm not going to lose you again."

Steve was impossibly happy and it felt almost like a betrayal after everything he went through. But then he remembered Tony's last words to him. Steve spotted a record player resting on a table at the side of the room and asked, "Does that record player work?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Perfect."

He stood up and walked over, remarking, "Let's see if I remember how to use one of these."

Peggy followed him and said, "Something tells me you'll do just fine."

Steve flipped through her records until he found one he liked and then he put it on the platter, placing the tone arm down on the outermost ridge. The song started playing and Peggy playfully remarked, "Well done, darling."

He turned around and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

"Yes," she said, taking his hand. "Yes, you may."

He pulled her close and she pressed her head against his chest, her arm sliding around his waist. They didn't dance so much as sway, their bodies moving languidly to the music. Steve felt a stillness in him that he hadn't known before and when he tried to put it into words, Peggy said, "I feel it, too. I think it means we're finally where we belong."

She was right, but to Steve it was more than that. He was finally home.

_Kiss me once, then kiss me twice_

_Then kiss me once again_

_It's been a long, long time_

_Haven't felt like this, my dear_


End file.
